Infant&#39;s rocking cradle



United States Patent Otlice 3,078,479 Patented Feb. 26, 1963 Glendale,Calif'.

Filed Dec. 2'7, 1960, Ser. No. 78,531 6 Qlaims. (Cl. 5-104) Theinvention relates to rocking cradles for infants and more particularlyto such cradles wherein the rocking motion is induced responsive tophysical movement of the infant.

This application is a continuation-in-part of our application entitled,Childs Rocking Device, led April 13, 1959, Serial No. 805,815, issuedAugust 15, 1961, as United States Letters Patent 2,996,298.

Conventional rocking cribs and cradles for infants may have severaldisadvantages. The rocking motion of the cradle may be produced with amotor or vibrator associated with the cradle and mechanically linked tothe cradle to produce the desired rocking movement. This type of rockingcradle has the disadvantage of being relatively expensive because of theapparatus involved, and a safety hazard may exist in the infant gettinghis fingers or the like caught between relatively moving parts of thedevice. Moreover, these conventional rocking cradles have thedisadvantage that the rocking motion is usually in one direction onlyand of constant amplitude.

The invention removes the above disadvantages by providing a rockingcradle wherein the rocking action of the cradle is induced by physicalmovement of an infant contained in the cradle and wherein the rockingmovement is in random directions and of random amplitude depending uponthe character of the movements of the infant. The apparatus of theinvention does not present relatively moving parts between which aninfant may be caught and is simple and relatively inexpensive.

The apparatus of the invention comprises broadly an infant containingmember mounted on the upper end of a vertically oriented compressionspring which is fixed at its bottom to a base. The infant containingmember has vertically extending sides and ends to contain and confine aninfant occupant, and the supporting spring is f such physical propertiesthat normal physical activity of an infant will cause oscillation of theinfant containing member and the infant about the vertical axis of thecompression spring. A bassinet may be used as the infant containingmember. An infant of the size and age normally accommodated in abassinet is not sufficiently coordinated to induce regular motion of thesupporting compression spring, and consequently a soothing rockingmotion in random directions and of random amplitude can be inducedthrough physical activity of the infant to the pleasure of the infant.

The invention will be fully understood from a reading of the followingdescription thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. l is a side view of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional View along the line 3--3 in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. l, a horizontally extending planar base is supportedfrom a surface 16 by means of casters 17 attached to the base. Thecasters 17 may be conventional casters wherein a wheel is rotatablymounted on a horizontal axis in a fork which is connected to theremainder of the caster for rotation of the fork about a vertical axis.Conventional casters with freely rotatable wheels and with fullswiveling action about the vertical axis are preferred to facilitatemovement of the apparatus relative to the surface 16 and to help preventoverturning of the apparatus due to lateral external forces exertedthereon, but if desired, the wheels of the casters may have conventionalreleasable locks to prevent unwanted lateral movement of the apparatus.Alternatively, gliders or other supports may be utilized to support thebase 15 from surface 16.

A heavy compression spring 24 is mounted on the base 15 with itslongitudinal axis vertical. 'I'he spring 24 is mounted with itslongitudinal axis at the geometrical center of the base 15. The bottomend of the spring is fixed to the base 15 with U-bolts 25 and 26 whichextend over the bottom coil of the spring and through the base 15 withnuts 18 on the legs of the U-bolts engaging the underside of the base15. The spring 24 extends upwardly to a horizontally extending planarcoupling plate 28 to which its upper coil is attached by means ofU-bolts 31, 32 which extend over the top coil of the spring and throughthe coupling plate 28 with nuts 5 on their legs engaging the upper sideof the coupling plate. The ends of the spring 24 are squared to producea planar engagement between the ends of the spring and the members towhich such ends are connected so that a fixed connection withoutrelative movement is made between the ends of the spring and the membersto which such ends are connected with the U-bolts as described above. Itis to be understood that the upper end of the spring may be connecteddirectly to the bottom 44 of the below described member 35 in the samemanner as the lower end of the spring is connected to the base 15, inwhich case the coupling plate 28 and supporting shaft 40 are not used.

The characteristics of the spring 24 are of considerable importance tothe invention. The spring 24 must be suiciently rigid to support aninfant containing member with an infant occupant and permit oscillationof same but still be sufficiently flexible to permit physical activityof the infant to produce lateral and axial movement of the upper end ofthe spring. The spring 24 is a cylindrical helicoidal spring, butalternatively it may be a conical helicoidal spring with the base ofcone disposed on the base 1S. It has been found satisfactory that thespring 24 be a cylindrical helicoidal spring made from round stockhaving a diameter of .670 inch with an outside diameter of live andone-eighth inches and a free length of thirteen yand three-eighthsinches. Such a spring has a spring rate, that is, pounds per inch ofaxial deflection, of four hundred and twenty-five pounds per inch and atotal capacity of three thousand pounds. Springs of other sizes may beused, but they should be on the order of five inches outside diameter,have a length in the range of ten inches to thirty inches, have a springrate in the range of one hundred to live hundred pounds per inch, and atotal capacity in the range of about onev thousand to three thousandpounds.

A supporting shaft 40 is mounted on the coupling plate 28 with its axisvertical and concentric with the longitudinal axis of the spring 24. Thesupporting shaft 40 is securely xed to the coupling plate 28 by means ofa radially extending ange 41 secured to the coupling plate 28 with bolts(not shown) extending through the ange 41 and the coupling plate. Acollar 42 may be secured to the supporting shaft 40 in engagement withthe underside of the coupling plate 28 to give further rigidity to theconnection between the supporting shaft 40 and the coupling plate 28.The shaft 40 extends vertically upwardly and terminates at its upper endwith a lhorizontally extending circular ange 43. The ange 43 is securedto the bottom 44 of an infant containing member 35 by means of a coverplate 45 and bolts 46 and 47 which Y sandwich the bottom 44 between thecover plate 45 and the flange 43, thus securely and xedly attaching theinfant containing member 35 to the supporting shaft 40. If desired, thesupporting shaft 40 may be `slidably received in the coupling plate 28,ange 4l, and collar 42 and releasably secured thereto in conventionalmanner by means of set-screws, such as the set-screw 6, threadedlyreceived in the flange 41 and collar 42 and extending therethrough tobearing engagement with the supporting shaft 4t? so that the height ofthe member 35 is adjustable, the supporting shaft being elongated, asshown, to provide a range of adjustability of height.

The infant containing member 35 has a substantially horizontallyextending bottom 44, upwardly extending and horizontally elongated sides5G and 51, and upwardly extending ends 52 and 53 which connect togetherthe ends of the two sides. The upwardly extending sides and ends arecurved outwardly in order that their upper edges curve inwardly in orderto enhance the ability of the member 35 to contain and confine an infantwithin its sides and ends. The infant containing member 35 may have aupwardly extending hood 54 on one end which extends over and above oneend of the infant containing member 35 in spaced relation to theuppermost extent of the sides 5) and 5l. The infant containing member 35may be a wicker bassinet as illustrated, or it may be a cradle or otherinfant container which has vertically extending sides and ends on it tocontain and confine an infant occupant therein.

When an infant is placed in the containing member 35, thephysicalactivity of the infant produces random axial compression of smallamounts of the spring 24 and random lateral displacement of the upperend of such spring. This random motion is pleasing to the infant andthus soothes the infant. The areal extent of the base 15 and thelocation of the casters 17 from the vertical axis of the spring 24 aredesigned to be outside of the vertical resultant of the forces appliedto the upper end of the spring to prevent overturning tendencies of theapparatus, and, 1f necessary, the base 15 may be weighted to further anytendency of the apparatus to overturn as a result of the forces appliedto the upper end of the spring 24.

We claim:

l. A rocking cradle for infants comprising a horizontally extendingbase, a compression spring with its central axis vertical and with oneend iixed to the base, and Ian infant containing member fixedly coupledto the other end of the spring, said infant containing member 'having ahorizontally extending bottom, vertically extending spaced sides andvertically extending ends connecting the sides .to contain and confinean infant within its sides and ends,

the spring constituting the sole connection between the infantcontaining member and the base, the spring being substantiallyincompressible by the weight of the infant in the infant containingmember while being laterally deformable in response to movements of theinfant in the infant containing member.

2. A rocking cradle for infants comprising a horizontally extendingbase, a cylindrical helicoidal compression spring with its longitudinalaxis vertical and with one end Viixed to the base and the other endfixed to a horizontally extending coupling plate, the springconstituting the sole connection between the coupling plate and the baseand lbeing freestanding between the coupling plate and the base, avertically extending shaft fixed to the coupling plate and extendingupwardly from the coupling plate, Ya horizontally extending 'liange onthe upper end Aof said shaft, an infant containing member having ahorizontally extending bottom xed to the fiange on the shaft, saidinfant containing member having spaced sides extending upwardly fromsaid bottom and ends extending upwardly from said bottom and extendingbetween the sides to contain `and confine an infant within its sides andends, the spring being substantially incompressible by the weight of theinfant in the infant containing member while being laterally deformablein response to movement ofthe infant in the `infant containing member.

3. A rocking cradle for infants comprising a horizontally extendingbase, supports carried on the base and supporting the base from asupporting surface, a cylindrical helicoidal compression spring with itslongitudinal axis vertical and with one end fixed to the base and theother end fixed to a horizontally extending coupling plate, the 'springconstituting the sole connection between the coupling plate and the baseand being freestanding between the coupling plate and the base, avertically extending shaft fixed to the coupling plate coaxially withthe longitudinal axis of the compression spring and extending upwardlyfrom the -coupling plate, a horizontally extending flange on the upperend of said shaft, an infant containing member having a horizontallyextending bottom iixed to the li-ange on the shaft, said infantcontaining member having upwardly and arcuately outwardly extendingspaced sides and upwardly extending ends extending between the sides tocontain and confine an infant within its sides and ends, and said infantcontaining member having a portion at one end extending upwardly fromthat end and the sides and over the containing member from side to sidein spaced relation from the uppermost extent of the sides to form a hoodover that end, the spring being substantially incompressible by theweight of the infant in the infant containing member while beinglaterally deformable in response to movements of tbe infant in theinfant containing member.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein the vspring has Iaspring rate in the range of from one hundred to ve hundred pounds perinch and a length in the range of ten to thirty inches.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein the vertically extendingshaft is elongated, extends through the coupling plate on both sidesthereof in slidable engagement therewith, and is ixed to the couplingplate with means for releasably fixing such shaft to such coupling platein preselected vertical positions of such shaft relative to .suchcoupling plate.

6. A rocking cradle for infants comprising a planar horizontallyextending base, a cylindrical helicoidal compression spring disposed onthe base with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the base andlocated at approximately the geometrical center of the base, a pluralityof U-shaped members surrounding the bottom coil of the spring and fixingit to the base, a planar horizontally extending coupling plate disposedon the upper end of the spring, a plurality of U-shaped memberssurrounding the top coil of the spring and fixing it to the couplingplate, the spring 'constituting the sole connection between the couplingplate and the base and being freestanding between the coupling plate andthe base, a shaft with its axis vertical and'coaxial with thelongitudinal axis of the Aspring fixed to the coupling plate andextending upwardly therefrom, a horizontally extending liange on theuppermost end of the shaft, an infant containing member having ahorizontally disposed bottom fixed to the horizontally extending flangeon the upper end of the shaft, said infant containing member havinghorizontally spaced and horizontally elongated elongated sides extendingupwardly from said bottom and a pair of horizontally spaced endsextending upwardly from said bottom and extending between the ends ofthe sides to contain and confine an infant between the sides and ends ofthe infant containing member, the spring being substantiallyincompressible by the weight of the infant in the infant containingmember while being laterally deformable to response to movement of theinfant in the infant containing member.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS822,889 Faust Iune 5, 1906 1,524,416 Waitekaites et al. ian. 27, 19252,494,094 Horstman Jan. 1G, 1950 '2,589,562 May Mar. 18, 1952 .UNITEDSTATE'S'PATENT oFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Noo 3,078,479February 26', 1963 vFrank Grosse et al It is hereby certified that errorappears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that thesaid Letters Patent shouldread as corrected below Column 3, line 38,before "any" insert inhibit Signed and sealed this lst"dayfof October1963o (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W., SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents AttestingUfficer

1. A ROCKING CRADLE FOR INFANTS COMPRISING A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDINGBASE, A COMPRESSION SPRING WITH ITS CENTRAL AXIS VERTICAL AND WITH ONEEND FIXED TO THE BASE, AND AN INFANT CONTAINING MEMBER FIXEDLY COUPLEDTO THE OTHER END OF THE SPRING, SAID INFANT CONTAINING MEMBER HAVING AHORIZONTALLY EXTENDING BOTTOM, VERTICALLY EXTENDING SPACED SIDES ANDVERTICALLY EXTENDING ENDS CONNECTING THE SIDES TO CONTAIN AND CONFINE ANINFANT WITHIN ITS SIDES AND ENDS,